19 barns get grants for repairs
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The Cummings barn in East Montpelier will get $10,000 for renovations as part of a state program to preserve historic barns. |
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By CRISTINA KUMKA Rutland Herald Staff - Published: July 24, 2009
Gov. James Douglas made the state's latest investment official Thursday — doling out $161,000 in grants approved by the state Legislature earlier this year to barn owners seeking to preserve their historic landmarks.
Nineteen farm owners were told they would receive reimbursements ranging from $1,900 to $10,000 from the state this year for improvements made to barns on their land — from replacing rotted wooden beams to repairing roofs and sills.
The farmers awarded Thursday — selected out of 55 applicants from across the state — had the barns in most need of repair to keep their farms and barns operating, according to information from the governor's office.
Also a requirement: Front the money first and get paid by the state later.
Started in 1991, the annual barn preservation grants come out of the state's budget for capital projects, according to Nancy Boone, acting state historic preservation officer with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. Last year, 25 awards of $225,000 were granted, Boone said.
"Even in these hard economic times it's important to keep Vermont strong in the tourism sector … it's part of what people come to see, the working agricultural landscape that Vermont is famous for," she said.
Among area barns to receive grants include:
Cummings Farm Barn, East Montpelier: $10,000 to jack and straighten barn, straighten and/or rebuild stone foundation, and re-grade and create drainage.
Gaylord Farm Barn, Waitsfield: $10,000 to repair frame and replace deteriorated siding and windows.
Simplicity Farm Barn, Brookfield: $10,000 to jack and straighten barn, repair foundation, and repair/replace sills, frame and siding.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the program has provided more than $1.4 million and leveraged many millions more to bring new life to roughly 200 historic agricultural buildings.
But for some dairy farmers and barn owners, matching the grant they will get by the state was once feasible by saving the money that came in from their product — milk, dairy or livestock.
Times have changed.
Today milk prices don't cover the cost of production and although the farmers are grateful for the grants, for some there's a long road ahead to raise the matching funds before getting it back, according to one farm owner and historic preservation expert.
The barns are in danger, but so are the operations running underneath them, according to Maria Fish of the Fish Farm Barn in Tinmouth, who was promised a $10,000 reimbursement after she and her husband applied to fix the rotting wooden beams and upper hay barn in their 1800s structure.
Fish said, "It's a scary time for farmers."
"What we are getting for our milk now is what we were getting for our milk in the 1970s," Fish said. "For most farmers, milk checks now aren't even covering your grain bill."
Today, Fish says she gets $11.83 for every 100 pounds of raw milk, or little more than $1 a gallon.
When she applied for the state grant, Fish said she had the savings to cover the cost of the barn renovations, but now, she's asking the state to defer the project and the grant until 2010.
"Because if we don't do these repairs, this barn will eventually collapse and we won't be able to milk in it any longer," she said.
Judy Hayward, executive director of The Preservation Education Institute and Historic Windsor Inc., charged with maintaining the ongoing Vermont barn census, said Fish's experience is likely not isolated to one farm.
But before farmers applied, they knew they would have to pay for the project first, regardless of what happened in the milk market, in accordance with state regulations, according to Hayward.
"They are excited about getting the money, but I don't think anybody is having an easy time of it this year," Hayward said.
Fish said the state's investment in barns this year may be short-lived if prices for supply, feed and farm necessities keep skyrocketing while dairy is dipping.
"What I see happening is that there aren't going to be dairy farms in Vermont," she said.
"If prices keep going up like this, people won't have a choice but to sell their land."
The state Legislature has appropriated $200,000 for 2010 barn preservation grants, according to Boone.
Applications are due in November.
For more information, go to www.historicvermont.org.
http://www.vermont.gov
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